During sex, semen is ejaculated from the man’s penis into the woman’s vagina. A man's semen (the liquid produced when he ejaculates or "comes") contains millions of sperm. One ejaculation can contain more than 300 million sperm.
As soon as the penis is erect, before the man ejaculates, a liquid called pre-ejaculate is produced. This liquid can contain thousands of sperm. Men have no control over the production of this liquid.
A woman's ovaries release one or more eggs (ovulation) 12-16 days before her next period.
The man’s sperm enters the woman's body through her vagina, then travels through her cervix and womb to the fallopian tubes, where an egg is fertilised (conception). The egg can be fertilised by sperm contained in semen or pre-ejaculate.
You can get pregnant without having sexual intercourse. While ideally, semen should be deposited as close to the cervix
as possible to get pregnant (as it would be after vaginal intercourse),
you can conceive as long as semen gets anywhere near the vagina or
vaginal opening. This may occur if a man ejaculates outside the vagina,
or it can occur if semen gets on someone's fingers and those fingers are
placed near or inside the vagina.
Pregnancy may also occur without ejaculation if the erect penis comes
into contact with the vaginal area. A small amount of semen—just a drop
or two—is excreted when a man gets an erection. This occurs before
actual ejaculation and is sometimes called pre-ejaculate.
While some women worry they got pregnant without having sex, others want to know how to get pregnant without sexual intercourse. Women who suffer from pain during sex may not be able to have sex frequently enough
to get pregnant. Conditions like vaginismus and vulvodynia can make
intercourse extremely uncomfortable or even painfully impossible.
Ideally, if you’re suffering from pain during sex, you should see your
doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Pain during sex can be caused by a number of conditions, some of which can harm your fertility.
If you’re going to give it a try, make sure you take all other
measures to increase your odds of getting pregnant. You’ll want to
• Dry humping: This is the process whereby two people repeatedly move up and down and back and forth on top of each other fully clothed or missing various pieces. But the penis must not come in contact with the vagina without some sort of fabric separating them. But even at that, gynaecologists warn that a woman can still get pregnant without being penetrated or even undressed. According to sexperts, it’s possible for a woman to become pregnant from dry humping – even if she hasn’t removed her underwear! This is because sperm can soak through lingerie. So, know from now on that grinding (aka dry sex/humping) really puts you at risk of accidental pregnancy, although it is rare.
• Breastfeeding: A popular myth is that active or exclusive breastfeeding prevents new mothers from conceiving a second time around. However, physicians warn that this isn’t true! They say that contrary to whatever you may have been told, breastfeeding is NOT a natural contraceptive and it cannot decrease your chances of becoming pregnant soon after giving birth.
• No ejaculation: Many couples think that using the “pull out” method will stop them from having a baby, but you can still get pregnant, even if a man hasn’t ejaculated at all. This is because pre-ejaculation fluid that oils the penis during foreplay contains a small amount of semen which can fertilise an egg.
• Rhythm or calendar method: Another popular sex misconception is that a woman can’t get pregnant if a couple abstain from sex when she’s in the most “fertile” part of her cycle. But physicians say a woman can, indeed, can get impregnated at any point during the month, including when she’s on her period.
• Using contraception: Get this clear: no form of contraception is 100 per cent effective. Therefore, it’s still possible to conceive despite being on the pill or using a condom.
Note that you can't get pregnant from a toilet seat, swimming in a
public pool, using a hot tub, or bathing in any other body of water.
Wanting to Get Pregnant Without Sex
While some women worry they got pregnant without having sex, others want to know how to get pregnant without sexual intercourse. Women who suffer from pain during sex may not be able to have sex frequently enough
to get pregnant. Conditions like vaginismus and vulvodynia can make
intercourse extremely uncomfortable or even painfully impossible.
Ideally, if you’re suffering from pain during sex, you should see your
doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Pain during sex can be caused by a number of conditions, some of which can harm your fertility.
There are treatments available, and they are worth trying. However,
let’s say you already spoke to your doctor and tried treatments, but
they haven’t been successful at relieving your pain. Or, maybe treatment
is going slowly, and you don’t want to wait until you can tolerate
sexual intercourse to start trying to conceive. Or, perhaps, you can't
bring yourself to talk to your doctor about the pain.
Is there a way you can still get pregnant? There are some options.
“Splash Pregnancy” — or Conceiving via Ejaculation Outside of the Vagina
This is a good place to mention that couples that can’t have sexual
intercourse still can have sex. Sex is defined as more than just vaginal
intercourse. One possible way to get pregnant without intercourse is to
have the man ejaculate as close to the vaginal opening as possible.
The conception that occurs due to semen reaching the outer vaginal
area (accidentally or intentionally) without intercourse is sometimes
called a “splash pregnancy.”
As long as some semen makes its way to the vulva or vaginal areas,
you have a chance of getting pregnant. If ejaculation can occur slightly
inside of the vagina, that’s even better.
How likely it is that you’ll conceive is questionable. Some studies
discuss women suffering from lifelong vaginismus having a child this
way. With that said, there are no studies looking at the odds of using
this method to get pregnant. They are certainly much lower when compared
to couples having more typical sexual intercourse.
If you’re going to give it a try, make sure you take all other
measures to increase your odds of getting pregnant. You’ll want to- Be sure to time sex near ovulation
- Try remain lying down on your back afterward for awhile
- Use only fertility friendly lubricants
- Perhaps try to have an orgasm just before or after (without disturbing the deposited semen, if possible)
IUI and Other Forms of Insemination
Another option for couples unable to have sexual intercourse is to
consider artificial insemination. Artificial insemination is when semen
is collected and then transferred into either the vaginal canal, into
the cervix, or into the uterus. IUI, intrauterine insemination, is the
most commonly used method because it has the best success rate. While
IUI usually includes treatment with fertility drugs, this is not
required.
Keep in mind when looking at success rates for IUI
that these studies primarily look at couples with fertility problems.
If your only difficulty in conceiving is pain during sex, and there are
no additional fertility issues (and the pain is not caused by a
condition negatively affecting your fertility), your success rates may
be higher.
Artificial insemination wouldn’t be very helpful to someone who
cannot tolerate any penetration. IUI requires the placement of a
gynecological speculum. There may also be slightly cramping upon
insertion of the catheter. However, for those who only experience pain
with penile penetration or thrusting, IUI could be an option.
• Dry humping: This is the process whereby two people repeatedly move up and down and back and forth on top of each other fully clothed or missing various pieces. But the penis must not come in contact with the vagina without some sort of fabric separating them. But even at that, gynaecologists warn that a woman can still get pregnant without being penetrated or even undressed. According to sexperts, it’s possible for a woman to become pregnant from dry humping – even if she hasn’t removed her underwear! This is because sperm can soak through lingerie. So, know from now on that grinding (aka dry sex/humping) really puts you at risk of accidental pregnancy, although it is rare.
• Breastfeeding: A popular myth is that active or exclusive breastfeeding prevents new mothers from conceiving a second time around. However, physicians warn that this isn’t true! They say that contrary to whatever you may have been told, breastfeeding is NOT a natural contraceptive and it cannot decrease your chances of becoming pregnant soon after giving birth.
• No ejaculation: Many couples think that using the “pull out” method will stop them from having a baby, but you can still get pregnant, even if a man hasn’t ejaculated at all. This is because pre-ejaculation fluid that oils the penis during foreplay contains a small amount of semen which can fertilise an egg.
• Rhythm or calendar method: Another popular sex misconception is that a woman can’t get pregnant if a couple abstain from sex when she’s in the most “fertile” part of her cycle. But physicians say a woman can, indeed, can get impregnated at any point during the month, including when she’s on her period.
• Using contraception: Get this clear: no form of contraception is 100 per cent effective. Therefore, it’s still possible to conceive despite being on the pill or using a condom.
